There are many different types of wheelchairs available to handicapped persons who desire mobility and the ability to use motor vehicles. By providing handicapped persons with wheelchairs that can be loaded into a vehicle, they can experience a high degree of mobility and independence. Those handicapped persons who are able to operate wheelchairs usually have the ability to operate vehicles as well, but have great difficulty in entering and exiting vehicles.
There have been many prior art wheelchairs and apparatus for lifting them into and out of automobiles while the handicapped persons remain seated thereon during the movement of the wheelchairs. One such known wheelchair lifting apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,111 which discloses a height adjustable wheelchair which is lifted into a vehicle by an apparatus fitted to a side entry door of a vehicle. The vehicle has the driver's seat removed such that the wheelchair sits in front of the steering wheel and locked into place on the floor of the vehicle. There are many other types of wheelchair arrangements which allow a wheelchair to be secured at the driving position however they suffer from a number of disadvantages. They are either difficult to load into vehicles and the seats are not suited to the height and angle requirements of that expected when positioned in the vehicle. In recent times flat floor vans have been modified for use by disabled persons. In order to enter the van a disabled person within a wheelchair generally enters from the rear access door. As the van typically has a substantially flat floor the disabled person is able to manoeuvre the wheelchair to the appropriate driving position near the steering wheel. The wheelchair is typically locked into position by a locking mechanism fitted to the floor of the van. A problem associated with such arrangements is that in order to accommodate the wheelchair, such a van must be of the type that has a relatively high roof. Such vans are typically used for commercial applications and are sometimes not desirable as a passenger vehicle. In recent times a number of vans have come onto the market which have a medium to low roof. Whilst these vans have rear access and a substantially flat floor which is suitable to receive an electric wheelchair, the low to medium height roof makes it difficult for a disabled person to enter the vehicle and then safely drive the vehicle with enough clearance between their head and the roof.
The present invention seeks to provide a wheelchair which has height and seat adjustability to suit the wheelchair for use with various sorts of vehicles.